Legend of Zelda: Azeroth's Darkness
by Son Kenshin
Summary: Link returns to Hyrule to find that the Scourge has began to invade his homeland, and he rides to warn the king. Meanwhile there have been grave robberies at Kakariko Graveyard and the Zora river has been hit by a plague.
1. The Cult of the Damned

**Legend of Zelda: Azeroth's Darkness**

Book 1: Hyrule's War

_Prologue: Prince Arthas, once a proud prince of the Loardaeron Nobility, became possessed by vengeance for the slaughter of his people by the Undead Scourge. He traveled to Northrend to wreak his vengeance against the dreadlord, Mal-Ganis. Claiming the evil rune blade, Frostmourne, he became a servant of the Lich King, ruler of the Scourge and also a servant of the Burning Legion. After the Burning Legion's defeat on Mt. Hyjal, Arthas went to claim his destiny of King of Loardaeron. But, the Lich King was weakening from the constant attacks from the half-Night Elf/half-demon Illidan Stormrage. He was poisoned by Sylvannis, an undead Elven Ranger, who he killed with the Frostmourne. Traveling to Northrend, he battled the Blood Elves, the Naga, and finally fought Illidan in one on one combat outside the Frozen Throne. Summoning all the evil power that the Lich King had bestowed upon him, he struck the Demonic Night Elf down, and went to claim his destiny. He walked into the Frozen Throne, with the Lich King's voice echoing in his mind, and all the betrayals haunted him. Finally, he used Frostmourne to free the Lich King from his frozen prison, and Arthas dawned the Lich King's armor, becoming the new King of Undead Scourge._

_Link, Hero of Time, and savior of Termania, has returned to Hyrule, his home, after a long, seven year search for his fairy friend, Navi, which he has no luck finding her…_

Chapter 1: The Cult of the Damned

On the edge of Hyrule Field, a lone horse and rider stood before the huge open plain. The traveler riding the orange colored horse dismounted, and took a deep breath. He was wearing a green tunic with chain mail and white under clothes and a green hat. Strapped onto his back was a bow and quiver, which were covered by a shield. Also, there was a long sword strapped onto his back. He sighed, and then looked up to the sky.

"Ah, it feels good to be home, doesn't it, Epona?" the traveler asked, and his horse, Epona, neighed in response.

He looked over the field towards a walled in city, with a gigantic castle in the back of it. He smiled, and the gently jabbed the sides of his horse, and they began trotting down the path to capital city of this land, Hyrule Castle Town, which had became a sprawling city in the years that the traveler had been gone.

'How long has it been, six years? Seven? I have been gone for far too long…' the traveler thought, and then gazed longingly into the sky, 'I wonder if _she _remembers me? I wonder how much she has changed…I wonder how she will react to me after all this time…'

The traveler took a deep breath, "_Zelda_…it's been so long…"

The traveler was no other than Link, the Hero of Time and the savior of both Hyrule and the far off land of Termania. He had just given up on his search for Navi, his fairy partner who fought beside him in the fight against the evil Ganondorf, the King of Evil. He didn't find her in any of the places he traveled, and decided to go home for some much needed rest.

Link looked around to see the sun setting. He remembered that to keep invaders out of the city, the guards of Hyrule Castle Town closed the draw bridge that opened to the market place. He decided to set up camp for now. Dismounting, he searched his pack for something to give Epona. Luckily, he found some carrots, and handed them to her.

He sighed as he gathered firewood. As he gathered it, he looked over the hill to see a group of men and women in dark black robes forming around a gold mind on the far end of the land of Hyrule. Link dropped the branches and logs that he had found, and went to Epona. He mounted her, and they rode off to see what the strange robed figures were doing.

'Those guys look trouble, better find out what they are doing,' Link thought as he hit Epona's ribs lightly with his books to get her to pick up pace, "Faster Epona, those guys look like trouble."

Link passed decaying grass and other plant life. It looked like a plague had hit the greenery, and Epona started to rear up from the smell of decay. Link calmed her down, and decided to go the rest of the way on foot. As he reached the top of the hill, he went onto his stomach and crawled to a nearby wall and surveyed what this group of hooded men and women were doing. He saw one waving his hands into the air, and a light shown down to the ground, scaring it. He looked around and saw mutilated bodies, and decaying creatures scattered around the area. There were also a couple of large creatures, which looked like they were a bunch of corpses that were sewn together.

'Who are they?' Link thought, and he looked over to see two of the hooded figures walking over to each other.

"Brother, were you followed? Did you get the necessary talismans?"

"No, I wasn't followed. We did retrieve the talismans from Kakariko Village, as well as the corpses there."

"Excellent. The base is coming along well enough. Our master will be very happy for taking over a land with such magical energy."

'Master? Who are they talking about?' Link thought, getting closer to the conversation, 'And they raided Kakariko village? Who would do such a thing?'

"The fallen Sheikah will serve our cause well," the hooded man said to his follower, "They have special abilities that will serve the Lich King well."

'Lich King? That must be their leader,' Link thought, continuing to look at the followers of this Lich King.

"This land of Hyrule will be as easy to conquer as the land of Loardaeron. The whole world will fall under the rule of the Lich King!"

Link gasped quietly, and then he saw a huge, floating fortress appeared. It had green water floating out of it, corrupting the surrounding landscape with a plague. Then, a few more strange buildings were formed out of nothing. Link started to move back a bit, trying not to be spotted.

"We must be weary though."

"Why is that, brother?"

"This land holds a weapon that would undo everything we accomplished, a weapon that rivals the Lich King's Frostmourne."

"What is it?"

"The Master Sword, a blade forged by the very gods that repels evil. Only the legendary Hero of Time can wield it."

"We must be on alert then, we will increase our security."

"Our Ziggurats will have to be turned into Spirit Towers immediately then. We can't risk our foothold on the nation."

After hearing that, Link ran back to Epona. He had to warn Zelda, the King, and the other races of Hyrule about this.

"Epona, we got to hurry!" Link yelled, jabbing Epona in the ribs with his heels, "We have to get to Hyrule Castle immediately!"

Epona then took off a full speed towards the walled city. These followers of the Lich King threaten all of Hyrule, not just Hyrule, the entire world was endangered. His horse galloped as fast as she could, but the sound of her clapping hooves caught the two robed figures attention.

"You said you weren't followed!"

"Forgive me master!"

The higher ranked robed figure struck down his subordinate, and two of the undead creatures crawled over to the dead robed acolyte, and started eating his corpse.

"We can't let whoever that was warn the locals," the head acolyte ordered, turning to the creatures that were eating the dead Acolyte, "You ghouls, go after him, make sure he doesn't reach the castle."

The ghouls growled in compliance, and started taking chase after Link. Link looked back to see the ghouls coming after him at surprising speeds. He slapped Epona's back to make her go faster, and she did. Epona was still running at full speed, but the undead ghouls were gaining on them.

Link sighed, and took out his bow and turned around to see the undead ghouls gaining momentum down the hill. Notching an arrow, he aimed carefully, adjusting his body to Epona's gallop. In a instant, he shot the arrow, taking down one of the undead ghouls. He looked back to see the ghouls still coming, and he notched another arrow, and fired once more. Another ghoul fell, and Link decided to focus on retreating towards the city instead of fighting.

"C'mon Epona, you have to go faster!" Link yelled, and Epona neighed, "We have to go faster girl, we can't fight all them off.

From a watchtower on the wall surrounding Hyrule Castle Town, the guards saw Link on Epona riding towards them at full speed. Then, they noticed the creatures following him.

"That man needs help! Open the drawbridge!" the head guard, Commander Orson ordered, then he looked through the guard's telescope, "That's Link, everyone, to your battle stations. He needs our help!"

The guards ran for their stations on the walls. Archers came up, and started aiming for the undead creatures that were following Link. The other guards opened the drawbridge for Link to ride through. He seemed to notice that, and slapped Epona's back to make her go faster.

"When Link passes that point on the hill, you will fire," Orson ordered, taking out his blade as the archers cocked their arrows, and prepared to fire.

Epona leaped over a small wall leading towards the gate, and the undead ghouls just kept following the horse and Link. Link decided to focus on getting through the gate rather than fighting back, since there were now a total of thirty ghouls chasing after him. Right when he passed the point where Orson had pointed out, the commander of the Hylian army threw down his blade.

"FIRE!" Orson commanded, and the company of 13 archers fired upon the ghouls.

The undead monsters that were caught in the volley were instantly killed. The archers reloaded, and took down another thirteen ghouls. The remaining decided to retreat. Link passed through the gate while the Hylian soldiers ran down to him, and he was out of breath. Orson was the last to come down from the wall and Link had dismounted.

"That was quite a run, lad, do you know what those things are?" Orson asked as some troops went out to inspect the bodies.

"Yes, I am afraid so Orson," Link replied, and he walked up to the commander, "I need to speak to the king, and Zelda. This is a matter that needs our attention."

"Yes, of course, but his majesty has called in the court to discuss the grave robberies of Kakariko Village and the strange poisonous water in the Zora's river."

"The things that chased me and the grave robberies are linked, Orson. I need to speak to the king and Zelda now."

"This is an urgent matter, I will take you."

Orson commanded two of the soldiers to look after Epona, who was exhausted from the long chase across Hyrule field. Link followed the commander through the city right as the merchants started opening their shops and the stray dogs were going into hiding.

**HYRULE CASTLE**

The king had called all the races of Hyrule to the Royal Court to discuss the sacrilege and desecration of the Kakariko Village Cemetery, where the Sheikahs who sacrificed their lives in the Great War were buried. The delegates of the races began a heated discussion about the recent events.

"As we all know, Kakariko Village Cemetery has been desecrated," the representative of the Hyrulean Court began, "And a plague has entered the Zora's Domain, which is why the king gathered you here today."

The representatives from the Zora Domain, Goron City, and Gerudo Desert Tribe shuffled around in their seats. Strange things have been happening in their homeland, and they wanted to know why. The Hylian representative took his seat, leaving the other races representatives to take the floor.

The Zora representative then walked out into the middle of the room, "Esteem members of the Court, your Highness, I must ask the other races to provide support for the Zora race. The fish that we have exported to you is running out, and we are unable to feed ourselves."

"We won't let our fish brothers starve to death," the Goron representative spoke out.

"That is a very kind gesture, but the Zora's can't eat rock," the Hylian representative added.

"We could send some of the fish in our area to the Zoras," the female Gerudo representative offered, "The extent of our territory is now to the coast, and we can fish there now."

"The desert extends all the way to the ocean, does the King know about this?" the Hylian representative asked the Gerudo.

"Queen Nabooru told your king personally," the Gerudo representative told the Hylian sternly, "Now, like we said, the Gerudo would be happy to share the bounty of the ocean with the Zoras."

"The Zoras thank you," the Zora representative bowed graciously to the Gerudo, who nodded in return.

"The next matter is the grave robberies in Kakariko Cemetery. We all know that the Royal Composers and the ancient kings of Hyrule were buried there, as well as most of the Sheikah warriors who sacrificed themselves in the Great War. The Sheikah graves have been raided, as well as the tombs of the ancient kings and even the Royal Composers were exhumed."

A soldier who was stationed in Kakariko village then stepped forward into the Royal Court, "We asked the grave keeper, Dampe, to report on what he saw for the past through nights."

"What did he say?" the Gerudo representative asked.

"He was paralyzed by some unknown force, but he reported that men and women of different races in dark black robes had came into the graveyard a couple nights ago, and began digging up the graves. He tried to stop them, but their leader waved his hand and he was thrown into a dead like paralysis. It has happened that way for the past few weeks."

"Do we have any reason on why these men and women of different races are exhuming the graves?" the Zora representative asked.

"We have a few clues," the soldier replied, "On one of the gravestones; one of the men engraved something onto the marble. It was written in Hylian, thankfully, so we were able to decipher it."

"What did it say?" the Hylian representative asked.

"It said 'These dead will serve our cause well…the blight is almost done spreading, and we have all the things needed…the dead will rise to serve our master…the Lich King'."

"'The dead will rise'?" the Gerudo representative asked, her eyebrow rising.

"'They will serve our master…the Lich King'?" the Goron representative spoke out.

"Now this is troubling," the Hylian representative added, "The King must be informed at once."

Meanwhile, in the throne room, King Harkrulean the third and his daughter, Princess Zelda were waiting for the Royal Court to finish. The king needed to know why this is happening, the grave robberies and the poisoning of the Zora River. It was like Ganondorf had returned, but his daughter wasn't having the premonitions she had with that evil man.

A guard and the Hylian dignitary entered the throne room with the report that they received.

"Jockil, what is the status of the kingdom?" King Harkrulean asked as the dignitary went to one knee.

"The Zora Domain has been poisoned; their food supply is running out sire," Jockil, the Hylian representative and dignitary replied, "The Gerudo's have offered to export fish and other marine life to feed the Zoras though."

"That is good, the races all need to work together in this now, since we are all part of Hyrule," King Harkrulean told the dignitary, "Now, what about the grave robberies in Kakariko?"

"That is more troubling sire, it seems that a cult has exhumed the bodies of the dead for unknown purposes," Jockil continued, "They seem to worship a deity called the Lich King, and are going to try to raise the dead it seems."

"Are you certain of this, Jockil?" Zelda interjected.

"Yes, princess, I am. The cult left an engraving on one of the gravestones," Jockil replied, bowing to the young princess, "I feel we have to increase security around the graveyard, there were still many graves left untouched by the cult."

"Very well, send one hundred more soldiers in Kakariko before nightfall," King Harkrulean ordered, and Jockil nodded.

One of the guards then walked up to the King and Zelda, "Your majesty, Commander Orson needs to speak with you. He has brought a young lad with him, cloaked in green clothing with a blade and Hylian shield on his back."

Zelda's face lit up when she heard this news, 'Link? He's back? It's been so long…'

"Very well, send them in," King Harkrulean ordered, and the guard bowed, and walked out of the room.

Link was in awe of the castles interior. He had been here before, but only on the outside, in the courtyard. He had gotten a look inside the castle when Zelda told him to look at Ganondorf. He followed Commander Orson past the guards, who were all saluting his friend.

"This is your first time being in the castle, isn't it, Link?" Orson asked, and the teenager nodded slowly.

"Yes, well inside that is. I have been here before, had to sneak by the guards when I was a kid to meet Zelda," Link replied as he continued to follow Orson down the hallway, "I gave her the Kokiri Emerald, just like the Great Deku Tree told me."

"You were raised by the Kokiri, right Link?" Orson asked, taking a glance back at his young friend.

"Yes, if everything went the way I wanted, I would probably have visited with Saria, Mido, and the young Great Deku Tree," Link told him, "But all of this…I don't want the kingdom to fall again, these guys seem as bad as Ganondorf."

"Well, we are more organized for that now; the Hylian military has advanced since you last saw it," Orson started, "Ever since Ganondorf's attack on the castle, we have started training people in the ways of magic. We have quite a few wizards in the army now, and we have increased our army's size over the past seven years. The Zoras are helping us build quite a navy as well."

"I hope it will be enough to fight those guys, the things that chased me didn't seem to tire at all, like the living dead," Link began, "They were different from the Stalfos, Stalchildren, and the Redead we all fought before, and they were more powerful than those enemies."

"We might have to mobilize for war with those that are creating such freaks of nature," Orson told Link gravely, "I've commanded a few of the soldiers to bring a body of the things we killed."

"I'm guessing the king needs physical evidence to declare war I guess, or at least a military action."

"Correct, Link. King Harkrulean doesn't want to make any mistakes."

"Oh, and how is Zelda?" Link asked as they reached the door, and the Royal Guard opened the massive door to the throne room.

_To be continued…_


	2. Preparing for War

Chapter 2: Preparing for War

**HYRULE CASTLE**

Link and Orson entered the throne room, and the commander led Link right to the King and Zelda. Zelda's face lit up when she saw Link. She noticed that he looked the way he did in the future timeline, yet still had his childlike face. Link and Orson went to one knee in and bowed.

"Rise Orson, an old friend shouldn't need to bow to another," King Harkrulean told the Commander of the Hyrulean Military, "And, who is this?"

"My name is Link, you're majesty," Link replied, and Zelda walked over to him.

"Like my father said, no need to bow to an old friend, right Link?" Zelda asked playfully, making Link blush.

"You know this young lad my daughter?" King Harkrulean interjected, and Zelda nodded and giggled.

"I…uh…snuck into the castle seven years ago just to meet Zelda," Link replied sheepishly.

King Harkrulean then raised an eyebrow, and then let out a chuckle, "You were too young to do anything anyway. Well, nice to meet you lad."

"Link here was chased by some strange beings, which appeared to the walking dead," Orson informed the King, "My old friend, we may be on brink of an invasion."

"Walking dead? Could they be Stalchildren and Stalfos? We've dealt with them before you know," King Harkrulean asked, not believing the threat was this major.

"The creatures still had skin on them sire, and already smelt of rotting flesh. They were not Stalfos or Stalchildren," Orson clarified, "Link told me where they came from, on the opposite side of Hyrule Field is where he spotted them."

"There were several robed figures, some carrying corpses from Kakariko Graveyard while others looked like they were building a base or something," Link cut in, "I overheard two of the robed men talking about their master, the Lich King."

King Harkrulean stepped back, "Y-You mean…these people are connected to the grave robberies?"

"Yes, that is what I heard. They said they would raise the dead Sheikahs so they can have powerful warriors," Link replied, "And, they were building a lot of defenses and already had quite a lot of troops around the base. All of their troops were dead though, reanimated."

"Father, we're dealing with necromancers, I have been sensing strange magic's lately," Zelda told her father, who put a stern look on his face.

"Orson, what do you suggest?" King Harkrulean asked, sitting back down on his throne.

"Immediate mobilization of our military sire," Orson suggested, "We may have enough forces to counter any attack."

"There seemed to be only 40 more of those things that attacked me, but there were also strange creatures, about 20 of them scattered through the base, which looked like a bunch of corpses sewn together," Link interjected, "From what I saw, there were no defenses built yet."

"If we hesitate, this cult may resurrect more warriors for their Lich King, and defenses may be built up around the base to prevent any frontal attack," Orson added strongly, wanting to eliminate any threat to Hyrule immediately.

King Harkrulean sat back, and rubbed the arc of his nose, "Very well. Send 200 knights to deal with this threat."

"Yes sire," Orson bowed to the king, "Come Link, you need to be better armed for this threat."

"No, not yet…" Zelda spoke out, "I wish to speak with Link for awhile, commander, and we have a lot of catching up to do."

"Of course," Orson smirked, "What ever you want princess. Link, you report to the barracks in three hours."

"Uh, yes Orson," Link said as he rubbed the back of his head, and his friend walked out of the throne room, "So, Zelda, what do you want to do now?"

"Follow me to the courtyard, perfect place for a reunion, don't you think?" Zelda replied playfully, and she walked up and grabbed Link's arm, "Now, if you'd be a gentlemen to escort me?"

"Yeah, sure," Link replied, and they both started walking out of the throne room towards the courtyard.

**UNDEAD BASE**

In the floating Necropolis, the lead necromancer placed a crystal in the middle of it, and cries of tortured souls rang out in the necropolis. The necromancer smirked, as the souls were brought back into the crystal, and it began to glow.

"The defenses have been placed…" the necromancer muttered as a magical barrier spread over the necropolis, "Now, I must start raising my lord's army…"

The necromancer walked out of the room where he placed the crystal, and walked to the top of the Necropolis. He started waving his staff, and pointed to the ground. The crypt started glowing green with necromantic power. The doors of the crypt flew open, and 20 more ghouls crawled out with 30 other, half-spider half-man creatures. More and more of the strange undead creatures and ghouls crawled out of the crypt.

"That is enough for now," the necromancer muttered, ceasing his spell casting, and then he looked up into the air for a second, "My master is beckoning to me…"

Walking down into the main hallway of the floating fortress, he was receiving telepathic commands from the Lich King.

'Yes my master, I sensed it too,' the necromancer thought as his red and yellow cape wafting as he walked.

'The 'Hero of Time' has returned my servant.'

'I know, when he appears, however, we will eliminate him.'

'Don't underestimate him,' Arthas the Lich King snapped, and then he sat back on the frozen throne, 'He wields a weapon that can undo everything the Scourge has accomplished. When he appears, make sure you kill him.'

'Yes sire, I will,' the necromancer replied, chilled to the bone by the Lich King's outburst, but also enthralled by the power that the Lich King commanded, 'I will not fail…'

The necromancer went out and surveyed his forces. More necromancers had been trained and were put in leather armor while acolytes harvested the precious minerals of the gold mine. The undead defenses were set, and the head necromancer expected an attack soon. Grinning evilly, he thought of his reward for conquering this land, Hyrule…maybe he would be made steward of this land, or maybe even the Lich King would grant him even more power than ever before.

**HYRULE CASTLE, COURTYARD**

Link and Zelda talked about what they had been doing for the passed seven years. Link told her about the land of Termania, how it was the mirror image of Hyrule. He also told him about sailing the great sea, almost getting caught in a tremendous maelstrom before coming back to Hyrule.

"My goodness, Link, that sounded dangerous," Zelda gasped, and he blushed, "But I guess you could handle it."

"Yeah, after battling Ganondorf and Majora, that maelstrom was relatively easy to get through," Link rubbed the back of his head, and laughed a bit, "Hey; I got to show you something…"

"What is it?" Zelda asked as Link rummaged through his pack on his waist.

After a few seconds of searching, Link finally took out a box with a metallic cylinder with a glass piece on it, "This. I got it in Termania. They called it a pictograph box."

"What does it do?" Zelda asked intrigued at what Link brought out.

"It is like a portable portrait artist," Link replied, as he fixed it upon himself, and a click was heard, "It basically takes pictures."

"Fascinating," Zelda gasped as she looked at the picture that came out of the pictograph box, "You have been to many places Link, and sometimes I envy you."

"Envy, me?" Link asked in disbelief, "You're a princess who has everything she could ever want, and I am just a lowly kid who snuck into the castle seven years ago. How can you envy me?"

"You get to travel the world Link, you are free to do what you want," Zelda replied, walking to and kneeling near some flowers, "I have to stay here, in the Castle, and never get to leave. You are free, Link, and I am not."

"I'm sorry Zelda, I didn't know," Link apologized, rubbing the back of his head again.

Zelda sighed, "It's alright Link, and it's alright. Come on, let's go to the dining room to get something light to eat before you have to go to the barracks."

Link smiled, and started to walk over to her when an older woman, in her late 30's appeared from behind the shadows. She was wearing a silver breastplate, had silver hair, blue tattoos under her brown eyes, and the symbol of the Sheikan people over her breastplate. She also had a blade strapped to her waist.

"Impa!" Zelda shouted, kind of surprised that her nursemaid had appeared.

"Hello, my princess. Oh, and long time Link, I see you have became a fine young man," Impa complimented as she walked over to Link and Zelda, and turned to Link, "I have been informed of the recent events, and I need to test your skills."

"What do you mean, Impa?" Link asked as Impa began to draw her blade, "You sure about this?"

"Yes…" Impa replied, charging at Link with her blade drawn.

Quickly, Link rolled out of the way of Impa's vertical slash. Drawing his gilded sword and his hero shield, he threw out his shield to parry Impa's next attack. Zelda gasped as she saw Link actually matching Impa in combat now. Link quickly retaliated with a thrusting stab, and Impa blocked that by flipping her blade vertically.

The last Sheikah threw out a roundhouse kick, which Link blocked with his shield. Impa smirked, and leapt back and returned her blade to its sheath.

"You've improved quite a bit Link," Impa commented as Link put the gilded sword into its sheath and he secured his shield to his back, "You've come quite far from the last time we sparred."

"I was a little kid back then," Link chuckled, "Its good too see you again Impa."

"Yes, yes it is," Impa then noticed the look on Zelda's face, "Now, I leave you to your business."

"Wait Impa, you forgot to tell Link something," Zelda hinted, and her nursemaid hid a blush, "About you and Orson…"

"Huh? What's happening between them?" Link asked, a bit confused, but then he noticed the blush on Impa's face, "Oh…I get it…no wonder why Orson was so happy…"

"Yes…we are engaged," Impa finished, "But with this war, it may prolong the wedding…"

"We'll make it short," Link told her, "Orson says the army has grown since I last was here."

"Yeah, I'll be waiting though, and ready to protect my life, and the princess," Impa resolved, and then she walked backwards into shadows and took out a deku nut, "I'll see you later."

She threw down the deku nut, blinding Zelda and Link with the result flash, which she took her leave in. When Link and Zelda opened their eyes, the shadow sage was gone.

**SMALL VILLAGE ON HYRULE FIELD**

On a relatively small village near Lon Lon Ranch, people were going along their daily business of trade. Children were playing about while merchants got their shops ready. The patrol in the watchtowers scattered around the village looked on, ready to defend the people here.

"Slow morning?" one of the lookout soldiers asked a nearby one.

"Yes, nothing on the horizon…" he replied, looking through the telescope that was provided, and then he squinted his eye, "What's that…?"

"You spotted something?"

"Yes, but I don't know what it is…and more are coming out from behind the hill…"

The watchman adjusted the telescope for a better look, "They…they look like corpses, walking corpses…and there are large ones, which look like a bunch of corpses sewn together…and they are carrying weapons…"

"How many do you see?"

"Over a hundred…and more are coming…and there are spider-like creatures coming too!"

"We can't fend off a force that large!"

"We must," the watchman grabbed his sword, "Get all our troops stationed here, we will fight those freaks head on."

"Right."

The Hylian soldiers ran down the stairs of the watchtower, alerting all who were in there. Twenty soldiers filed out of the watchtower, while some more ran out to gather the rest from the other watchtowers. The strange creatures began running towards the village while the soldiers were organizing.

The people of the village began running away as the undead creatures advanced with startling speed. The total number of Hylian soldiers that guarded the village gathered in the square. There were about eighty of them, and they prepared to defend the people here.

The soldiers then started advancing in ordered lines to the outskirts of the village. The undead creatures seemed to gain speed as they ran down the hill; it was like an unruly mass. But, there were those commanding them, men wearing red and purple robes with horse skulls for helmets on their head and goat skulls on there staffs.

"Stand firm men! We won't let this village fall without a fight!"

The creatures roared their bloodthirsty battle cry, launching themselves at the awaiting soldiers. Taking out their swords, the brave Hylians met the undead creatures in a clanging of flesh upon steel. It seemed the countercharge stemmed the undead from advancing that is until the Hylians were met by the gigantic abominations. Many men fell from one swipe of the meat hooks and cleavers that the abominations brandished. The soldiers were kept away from frontal attacks on the mindless abominations because of their flailing meat hooks.

The smaller undead cut through the Hylian armor with their razor sharp claws and unnatural strength, the soldiers were able to retaliate with their blades, cutting down many of these ghouls. The spider-creatures began to tie down the Hylian soldiers with very strong webbing which made them vulnerable for the ghouls to attack. The battle was going poorly, and more and more undead seemed to pour down from the hill.

"We must warn the king!"

"I'll go!"

"Yes, take my horse and get to the castle!"

The blood splattered soldier nodded, and placed his hand on his comrade's shoulder.

"Fight on, my friend."

"I will, now go!"

His friend from the watchtower ran back into the village, dodging webbing and claws. Fighting his way to the stable, he was struck in the back by an abomination, turning around quickly; he decapitated the mindless beast and cut it in half. Bearing his teeth in pain, he ran to his friend's horse, which was rearing up in fright.

"Calm down," he calmed the horse, which neighed fearfully, "I know, I'm frightened too, but all Hyrule must be warned of this attack."

Quickly, the soldier mounted the brown horse, and sped out of the stable. The soldier slashed the ghouls that leapt up at him and the horse, and he saw that not everyone made it out of the village. He growled angrily, and turned his back on the battle that raged behind him. When he got to the top of the hill, he saw that his friend and a few soldiers were still alive and fighting against overwhelming odds.

'Can't turn back…must warn the King!'

He commanded the horse to run as fast as it could towards Hyrule Castle town, and he saw that Lon Lon Ranch had already evacuated. The people that had fled the village had already gotten towards the gates of the city, and were running in.

**HYRULE CASTLE**

Orson ran to fetch Link, who was finishing eating with Zelda. He ran into the dining room where Link and Zelda were eating.

"Link, we must go to the barracks," Orson told the young hero, "One of the villages near Lon Lon Ranch has been attacked, and the refugees have at the city."

"How horrible!" Zelda gasped, hearing the news of her people.

"I have to go now, Zelda," Link said with urgency, "Lead the way, Orson."

The commanding officer of the Hylian Army nodded, and led Link out of the dining room of the castle. They swiftly walked through the many halls of the castle, passing by the Royal Guard and the other soldiers.

"The village was attacked by a force of 100 or more undead creatures," Orson started telling Link, "The garrison of 80 soldiers could not hold them off for long…"

"Damn…" Link cursed as he continued to follow Orson, "How many villagers survived?"

"Almost all, the soldiers guarding the wall were surprised to see how many people were fleeing from that area," Orson replied militaristically, "But a few refused to leave their homes, determined to help the soldiers fight off what was attacking the village."

"You think it was these undead?" Link asked as Orson nodded.

"The refugees said that living corpses appeared on top of a hill southeast of their village, that is when the garrisoned troops started gathering in formation to protect the village, and then they ran."

"How many troops were stationed there?"

"Eighty," Orson replied as they walked out of the castle past more Royal Guard, "They were light troops though, no heavy armor and there were also no archers stationed there."

"No way to thin the ranks of the enemy had to fight them head on," Link surmised, "How many forces do we have in the city?"

"Four thousand foot soldiers, two thousand archers and five hundred knights, the Royal guard have elite soldiers scattered around the castle and in the city," Orson replied, and guessed his next question, "Outside the city, in Kakariko Village, we have five hundred footmen stationed there, and in the smaller villages scattered throughout Hyrule we have about eighty soldiers stationed in them."

"The other races, what is the size of their military?"

"The Gerudo's have a standing army of 10,000 women, while the Zora's have a standing army of 9,000. The Gorons on the other hand have a standing army of just 4,000," Orson replied, "Most of the races in Hyrule have let their military dwindle in these times of peace, we might not be able to repel this threat if it gets too large. The King didn't want our militaries to grow until recently, to prevent another conflict like the Great War."

"I wonder what they want here," Link inquired as he followed Orson down threw the streets towards a large, castle like building.

"They probably want the Triforce," Orson replied as they walked into the barracks, where the footmen and knights were being suited up while newly enlisted men were training to fight, "Now, we have to make sure the knights of Hyrule are ready for the first battle."

"Right," Link said as he followed Orson to the armory.

_To be continued…_


	3. Knights of Hyrule, ride!

Chapter 3: Knights of Hyrule, Ride!

**HYRULE BARRACKS, HYRULE CASTLE TOWN**

Link and Orson went to the armory, where there were footmen and knights were being suited up. Orson went over and grabbed some armor that was about Link's size.

"If you're going to be riding as a Knight of Hyrule, you have to wear the garb," Orson told him, and Link backed down.

"Sorry Orson, can't wear that armor, not accustomed to it you know," Link replied respectfully, and he walked over to where some pauldrons were piled, "These will be fine, I like to keep my mobility."

"Suit yourself," Orson said cheerfully, taking a pair of pauldrons to the smithy, "Etch the Royal Seal of the Triforce onto these."

"Yes Lord Orson."

The smithy took the pauldrons, "They will be ready in a few minutes."

"Thank you," Link said as he followed Orson threw the barracks, "Who is being sent out first."

"The first two hundred knights are being sent out in a few minutes. Right now their steeds are being prepared, and they are suiting up," Orson told him, "You and I will be in the second attack if it's needed. Captain Kishar will be leading them…"

"I am prepared," a man, presumably Kishar, interjected, "Our forces are ready to ride out whenever the order is given, Commander."

"Good soldier, get the other knights and prepare to ride out," Orson told Kishar, and he walked to a map of Hyrule on the other side of the large room, and both Link and the Captain followed, picking up a pencil he marked where the Undead were last sighted, "Here, in the Village of Nario, was where the undead attacked. If we strike quick enough, we maybe able to stop that strike force before it inflicts anymore damage onto our lands."

"Understood," Captain Kishar then turned to the knights and footmen that were in the barracks, "Alright, men, mount your steeds and follow me to the gate of Hyrule Castle Town, we ride for Nario in 20 minutes."

"Yes sir!"

Link's pauldrons were ready, and he and Orson went over to the smithy, and Link paid the blacksmith fifty rupees for his fine work.

"Thank you my lord."

"No need for thanks, you did a fine job," Link told the smithy, "And…just call me Link. I'm not a lord of Hyrule."

"Alright my friend Link."

Captain Kishar and his battalion of knights went to the gigantic swaying doors of the barracks, and two soldiers opened them, letting the knights ride out slowly. Citizens watched as the knights rode out towards the square. They passed the Temple of Time, the Bazaar, the Happy Mask Shop, the Potion Shop and other shops in the square as they rode out. The banner carriers wove the Hyrule Royal Symbol of the Triforce on flags with pride as they followed their individual squads of knights.

Most of the Knights were armed with the sword, shield, and lance, while in the back of the knights were horse archers for supporting fire. Their armor was thick and well built due to the smithies of Hyrule, crafted by the very best Goron blacksmiths.

Children and women stood back, watching the knights ride out. Most of the knights had families, and were being waved on by them and also cheered on. Captain Kishar kept his stern look, only wanting to get the job done to protect his wife and child, who were waving to him from a balcony. They reached the drawbridge and saw the footmen that guarded it drop the bridge for them to cross.

"Now…we ride! Leave no undead standing!" Kishar ordered, and then he kicked his horse's ribs and galloped out of the city.

The knights complied and followed Kishar's horse through the drawbridge, ready to engage the undead enemy.

**VILLAGE OF NARIO, SOUTHWEST OF LON LON RANCH**

The light soldiers were still fighting off the undead, but the force of 80 men strong had been reduced to a mere five by the unrelenting assault of the living dead. The men were beginning to tire, but the undead seemed to have infinite stamina.

Another one fell from his head being chopped off by one of the large undead abominations. Yet another one was impaled on a ghoul's claws, and another was wrapped up and poisoned by one of the undead half-spider/half-man crypt fiends. The last two soldiers fought side by side, trying to ward off the enemy.

"Sir! We're outnumbered and we can't run!"

"Just keep fighting!" the soldier that spotted the undead first ordered, 'I hope you got to the castle, my friend…'

The commanding soldier heard a scream, and he saw the surviving last surviving soldier(besides his friend), with his head on a abomination's meat hook. He looked in horror as his friend was ripped in half by abomination. The captain was filled with rage, and charged the abomination, and with one fluid movement, he hacked off the abomination's head and arms before the undead creature could react. He panted as the undead surrounded him.

"STAND DOWN!" a voice of an old man commanded, and the undead made way for him.

The old man had a green and purple robe and a ram's skull on his head. He also had a smaller ram's head on his staff and also had piercing, soulless eyes.

"A warrior of your caliber should be awarded for your trouble and courage."

"W-What?"

"I am going to offer you the chance to become one of the Lich King's Death Knights…" the old man replied, "It is a great honor, you being on the winning side of this conflict."

"Never! I will never betray Hyrule or its people!" he then charged the old man, raising his sword vertically into the air, "Prepare for death, you traitorous old man!"

"Oh…I'm not of Hyrule…" the old man grinned, and blocked the vertical slash with his staff, "I am a necromancer of Northrend, I was once one of the wizard apprentices of Dalaran, before my lust for power became to much, and King Arthas gave me the power I desired…"

The old man kicked the soldier down, who rolled on the ground to get to one knee.

"I'm not finished yet old man!" the soldier shouted as he took out a knife, and threw it towards the necromancer.

"Pitiful," the necromancer then muttered a spell, which disintegrated the knife and through the captain into town, "What a pity, he would have made an excellent Death Knight…"

Strange contraptions then wheeled themselves to the battlefield, and they started grabbing the corpses of the fallen Hylian soldiers. These 'meat wagon's loaded one of the bodies into a catapult like device on their tops, and then wheeled themselves back towards the base.

"Now, prepare ambush positions. I suspect that the king has sent a wave of knights is heading this way," the necromancer then threw down a deku nut, and vanished in a puff of smoke.

The undead then went into the burning houses, while the crypt fiends dug themselves under the ground. The sound of galloping hooves was heard from over a mile away. The banner of Hyrule was waving in the air as the knights charged into the area.

"Nario burns…"

The knights looked around, seeing the carnage around them. The villagers that hadn't escaped were beheaded, half-eaten, head on a pike, etc. Women and children were mercilessly slaughtered and gutted; their corpses looked like they have been eaten. Many of them men covered their mouths, and some even vomited. Kishar however remained stone-faced, and raised his hand.

"Stay together men, we need to stay in formation…" Kishar ordered, and a corpse moved, and cried.

"Help….me…."

"It's one of the soldiers who were garrisoned here!" a knight yelled, and Kishar dismounted.

"What happened, where is your unit?" Kishar questioned, seeing the wounds on the man's body, "Who did this to you? What caused this carnage?"

"A…necromancer injured me…like this….he…was looking…for someone…to join him…to become a Death Knight…I refused…he…tried to kill me…"

"And what slaughtered the townspeople?"

"The…undead…"

The soldier blacked out, and Kishar felt his pulse.

"He's still alive," Kishar muttered, "Get a spare horse, two men; escort him back to the castle!"

The extra horse that was in the battalion was brought to Kishar, who, with two other knights, lifted the unconscious soldier onto the horse, and they rode away towards the Castle.

Kishar returned to his horse, and mounted. He knew something was wrong. His long, elf-like ears perked up, like they were trying to hear the slightest noise. The horses were already restless from the sent of death, and their eyes were searching around everywhere.

The knights looked around, reading their swords and lances. Approaching the end of the road, near the square, the knights spread out. A few birds then flew into the air, apparently spooked by something in the bushes. This made the horses rear up in fright, and some subtle growling was heard.

"Calm down men! Calm your horses!" Kishar ordered, his eyes shifting around the area.

One of the horse archers gripped his short bow, reading to fire into anything that attacked him. Then, he heard growling above him and blood dropped onto his helmet. He looked up, to see an undead ghoul sticking onto the wall of a burning building! The ghoul leapt onto him before he could fire an arrow, throwing him off his stead. This got everyone's attention.

"Kill that thing! Kill it now!" Kishar ordered as the undead ghoul tore through the archer's armor, ripping out his innards and a blood lusted fury, "Now, destroy it!"

The other horse archers shot their arrows into the ghoul's back, and it howled in pain. That triggered more ghouls to leap out at the knights and horse archers, and huge lumbering abominations crashed through the buildings. The half-spider half-man Crypt Fiends surfaced from the earth, surrounding the knights.

"An ambush! Men! Fight!" Kishar ordered, raising his sword into the air.

The knights cried a loud battle cry, and began to charger on their steeds. The horse archers fired volley after volley into the ghouls and crypt fiends, taking down the undead units easily. The knights clashed with the abominations and ghouls, trying to take down each undead with one swipe of the sword or they would trample them. But, the abominations were too big for that tactic, and many knights were cut down from their steeds or knocked off for the ghouls to finish off.

"Hold steady men! We have to drive them back!" Kishar ordered, and he used the pommel on his sword to bludgeon an undead ghoul that leapt out at him, 'they just keep coming…we'll be overrun!'

**UNDEAD BASE, THRONE ROOM OF THE NECROPOLIS**

A wicked smile formed on the necromancer's face as he watched the Hylian Knights struggle against the undead. He had returned to the Necropolis to survey the battle from afar, his magic enabled him to form a crystal ball out of an ordinary stone. He kept an eye on Kishar, who was fighting bravely against the undead that he had unleashed. Then, all of a sudden, the rune blade in the throne room started to glow brightly, like it had finally found its owner.

"Fearmourne has started to glow…could it be…?" he muttered to himself, as he gazed into the crystal ball more, and focused on Kishar's thoughts, 'He has ambition, he isn't content with just being a captain of the Hylian Army…'

The necromancer continued to probe Kishar's thoughts, 'He considers his family only as a means to an end…'

The evil smile grew, 'Yes...this man would be perfect for the status of Death Knight…'

The rune blade, Fearmourne, was the second most powerful rune-blade that the Lich King forged, just under the feared blade, Frostmourne. All unworthy beings who grasped it were killed by its evil energy, and it only glowed when it thought a being was worthy of its power. So far, the only beings that were able to grasp it were the Lich King, Kel'thuzad, and this necromancer; yet, none of them were able to wield it.

The necromancer then rose to his feet, and telepathically contacted his fellow necromancers and acolytes. He then sent a telepathic message to all the undead at the battle; leave Kishar alive and capture him.

**VILLAGE OF NARIO**

The battle wasn't going so well for the Hylians. The town square had become a blood drenched battlefield. They were being outflanked by increasing numbers of undead and there was no way for a route. Buildings around the knights crumbled as more abominations crashed into the battle.

All 50 horse archers have been slain, with the injured undead actually feeding off the dead men. Kishar tried to rally his men, but a ghoul came running up and slashed his horse's throat. He fell off the dying horse, and took out his war hammer. He bashed the ghoul's head, and used his sword to parry an abomination's meat cleaver, then smashed the abomination's head with his war hammer and cut it cleanly in half. He turned around to his men, and realized that there was no way for them to win against theses odds. An abomination's meat cleaver killed his lieutenant, and his men were in disarray.

"Fall back! Fall back to the edge of the village!" Kishar ordered before cutting down another ghoul, and he began to run down the road followed by his remaining men, who were being cut down as they charged out of the cursed village.

Kishar then met up with two crypt fiends, which delayed him from catching up with his men.

"Captain!"

"Keep running men! Get back to Hyrule Castle!" Kishar commanded as he began to fight the agile spider-like creatures, "Back you damned cursed creatures! I'll send you to the abyss of hell!"

Kishar slammed his hammer into the chest of the nearest crypt fiend, and rotated a full 360 degrees with his blade to take down an incoming ghoul. He sidestepped a charging abomination and flipped his war hammer to its pike and slammed it into the undead creature's back. He took a quick glance to his remaining men, who were already out of the city with the undead ghouls still chasing after them.

'Time to buy them more time…' he thought as he leapt over the ghouls who were trying to grab him, did a roll, and stopped near a dead horse archer, "I need this more than you."

He grabbed the dead archer's bow and quiver, and ran up to a building with the undead chasing after him. He kicked through the window and ran up the stairs passed the dead Hylians that the undead had slaughtered. He made it up to the roof, and he drew an arrow on the bow.

Aiming carefully, he shot the arrow through an abominations head, one that was going to kill one of the injured knights. A ghoul had followed him with a pack of other undead creatures, and he back kicked it down the stairs. Notching another arrow, he shot it into another undead. His men had gained enough ground to get away from the undead, which lumbered and crawled back into the village.

Panting, he looked down to see the undead that chased him were gone, and he sat down on the roof to rest. He was prepared to die, and he laid back. Closing his eyes to rest, he failed to notice the crypt fiend crawling towards him. It shot out two darts which hit his neck. He shot up, then went as limp as a fish.

When a ghoul crawled over to eat the unconscious soldier, the Crypt Fiend stomped in front of him, "**He** is not for eating. Bring him back to the base for the master."

The ghoul growled in response, trying to protest the Crypt Fiend's order. But, it new it couldn't fight the larger creature, and grabbed Kishar and threw him onto his back. The Crypt Fiend nodded, and they both walked through the ranks of rotting undead towards the base.

**HYRULE CASTLE TOWN**

Link and Orson were preparing their horses to ride out when a extremely injured soldier on Kishar's horse was carried in. They both ran over to him, seeing the lacerations and slashes that he received, it was a miracle he was still alive.

"What happened to you?" Link asked, walking towards the soldier.

"I…was attacked…as well…as my garrison…in Nario…"

"Stand back," Link told the other soldiers, then he took out a red potion, "I don't think I'll need this, you have it."

"Thank…you…"

Link poured the red potion down the soldier's throat, and they all stood back and waited for the brew to take effect. The soldier's slash wounds and lacerations were healed, mostly, and he was able to get up.

"You were in the village of Nario?" Orson asked, getting straight to business.

"Yes. I fought bravely there to, but all my comrades have been killed," the soldier started, "I faced their leader in combat, and was completely overwhelmed."

"Their leader? Was it someone called the Lich King?" Link asked, and the soldier shook his head.

"No…he said he was a wizard from someplace called Dalaran. During the brief parley that we had, he is working for this so called Lich King."

"How is it you survived?" Orson asked.

"Not sure, I was blasted back into the village by this wizard, and then Captain Kishar saved me."

"So, Captain Kishar arrived on schedule," Orson speculated, "Did you see anything that transpired after?"

"No…I blacked out when I was put on his horse."

"Well, we'll leave you to your rest," Link told the soldier, who nodded and laid back down on the sick bed.

"Hopefully Kishar has stopped those who attacked Nario…" Orson said as he and Link walked out of the barracks and went over to the wall, "We might have to survey the battle to know what we are up against."

A guard then ran over to Orson, "Commander Orson, Kishar's knights are returning, with less than half their original number!"

"What?" Orson gasped as he ran up to the battlements, and used the spyglass to see the several surviving and injured Knights of Hyrule retreating back to the castle.

"They must have been overwhelmed, Orson," Link said, seeing the shock on his friend's face, "I have a feeling I'll have to draw the Master Sword…"

"I have a feeling you will have to draw it Link," Orson said, putting down the spyglass, "If Hyrule's Knights couldn't stop this, than the Hero of Time will be needed."

"And we are dealing with magic here, I'll also need the Mirror Shield as well," Link said as the surviving Knights galloped into the city.

"This threat requires all the races to unite…" Orson started, "A Great War against a common enemy, and that enemy has just won a battle."

Link nodded solemnly, and they both looked over the glorious Hyrule Field…


End file.
